Photo: Pierre Rommelaere
Title: Laerskool Noord
With: Margit Meyer-Rödenbeck, Marion Holm, Ilne Fourie, Neels Coetzee
Director: Gideon Lombard
Producer: Arena Produksiehuis, Handy Minds
Author: Ilne Fourie
Technical care and stage management: Jeanne Steenkamp
Made possible by: Vrystaatse Kunstefees, Momentum Beleggings Aardklop, NATi
Three women, one location and a textbook full of laughs – Laerskool Noord has the winning formula.
Put three women who are unlikely to be friends in forced proximity under some external stress and see what happens. It’s the perfect environment for dramatic outbursts, brilliant one-liners and unfiltered fun. The main goal: to see ourselves in these characters and, as we laugh at them, to laugh at ourselves. A play like this helps us to break through our own petty problems and teaches us not to take ourselves so seriously. I have seen similar plays, and I find them slightly nostalgic. Good, solid, old-fashioned theatre. No frills, no fuss. The focus is on a relatable everyday story, lovable characters and the dynamics between them. And I must admit that I love it when these stories offer an insight into female relationships that is recognisable, but also manages to reveal an unexpected twist or deeper layer.
The script (written by Ilne Fourie) is set in a primary school where three department heads are having a staff meeting. The headmaster, who is about to retire, was meant to join them in person, but has “gone to a conference in Johannesburg” (did he really?) and will have to use Zoom. And he will announce his successor. This causes an unspoken tension between them: which one will get the sought-after post. Between personal crises, professional challenges and thinly veiled competition, we get to know the three women. Zelda de Wet (Margit Meyer-Rödenbeck) is the netball coach of your nightmares. The only thing that travels further than her loud voice is her piercing whistle. Bets du Preez (Marion Holm) is the constantly disorganised culture head, and drama is her middle name. And sugary sweet, overly enthusiastic Marietjie (Ilne Fourie) loves teaching the foundation phase children with her overflowing glitter and diminutive nouns left, right and centre.
Until the principal joins the meeting, they are finalising the details of his surprise retirement party. These three diverse women have taken it upon themselves to send their dear old headmaster off in style – or in someone’s idea of style. And each one has a very different idea of what that is. Zelda’s passion for performing the haka clashes quite strongly with Bets’s determination to have some form of cultural entertainment: a musical performance or a dramatic recitation. Meanwhile, Marietjie is committed to filling their venue (the equipment shed) with balloon poodles. She follows the principal on Facebook and is very familiar with his three furry princesses – and after a safe-sex educational moment with her grade sevens, she learned how to fold these beauties with condoms. Ideas clash and tempers flare as they disagree, quibble and at times almost go at each other physically.
Apart from planning the party, they also have to get through the basic admin and finalise issues for the meeting (such as bathroom artwork and grade sevens who backtalk and “whatever” their teacher). Plus they have a tendency to go off topic. During the run of the play, we hear about Bets’s divorce, a shared love for “Fiela se kind”, and a whole lot more sausage discussions than expected. Plus the Zoom call becomes a comedy of errors with sound issues, connection issues and general uselessness on the principal’s side. It is the unexpected meltdowns, honesty and confessions that create a stronger connection between them. They gain deeper insight into what is truly important and stop placing so much pressure on the headmaster’s decision. After all, the three of them have always run this school as a team and will continue to do so whatever the final choice may be.
This is old-fashioned, realistic theatre: a staffroom on the stage and outfits that match the three personality types to a T. The director, Gideon Lombard, has done a great job plotting moments and laughs regularly throughout the piece and maintaining high energy throughout. There is no slow patch or section that falls flat. Laughs are accommodated, without being indulged. It is clean (apart from a few sausage puns), it is entertaining and it is memorable. It is brilliantly performed. There is a formula to this type of theatre, and some may be opposed to that. I say: if it works, it works, and why change it? And what people forget is that, even when there is a formula, you still have to follow it correctly. Get the proportions wrong, add a different ingredient, and either it blows up in your face, or – nothing happens. It can so easily fall flat, but Laerskool Noord does not. Not even once.